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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Orlando Victims Remembered At Huge Vigil As Rainbow Emerges Overhead; Senate To Vote On 4 Gun Amendments With None Expected To Pass; The Battle Over Guns And Trump; England Mourns Murdered Lawmaker Jo Cox; Deadly Heatwave Hits Southwest Killing Four; Iraqi Military Expects To Retake Fallujah From ISIS "Soon". Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 20, 2016 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[05:31:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, tens of thousands of people mourning the victims of the Orlando terror attacks as vital new details are set to emerge later today.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN ANCHOR: And the Senate will vote on four different gun control amendments today. None are expected to pass. Can the Senate make a deal?

ROMANS: Four dead from intense heat, five wildfires raging, and the forecast only getting hotter.

Welcome back to EARLY START this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

NOBLES: I'm Ryan Nobles. It is 31 minutes past the hour. Good morning. Later today we get new information on the Orlando nightclub massacre. Law enforcement officials will release partial transcripts from the three phone calls that gunman Omar Mateen made to police describing his motives.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says only limited transcripts will be released "to avoid re-victimizing those people that went through this horror". The attorney general travels to Orlando tomorrow to meet victims and their families, first responders, federal prosecutors, and others.

Eighteen victims are still hospitalized from the attack, after one was released Sunday. Four remain in critical condition. Last night, victims were remembered at a huge vigil organized virally on Facebook. Hundreds cheered and took pictures when this bright, beautiful rainbow appeared over the event.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Ryan, when this event was organized a week ago the organizer tells me that he expected maybe 100 people to show up. But on Sunday night, here in downtown Orlando on the banks of a lake, some 50,000 people turned out for this memorial service and candlelight vigil for those who were killed and gunned down in the deadly shootout there at the Pulse nightclub a week ago.

An unbelievable sight of outpouring of grief and public emotion here at this vigil. It's staggering to see the numbers of people who have come out here to show their support for the survivors and the victims, and victims' relatives, as well.

But Monday will also be a day when we learn much more about what happened inside of the Pulse nightclub more than a week ago. Authorities plan on releasing partial transcripts of the conversations they had with the killer during the attack inside of the Pulse nightclub, and so that is news that will emerge here, later on today -- Christine and Ryan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, thanks, Ed, for that. In the wake of the Orlando tragedy the Senate votes on four different gun control amendments today, two sponsored by Democrats, two by Republicans. The first two proposals set for a vote are aimed at tightening up gun purchase background checks. The second two make it harder to buy a gun if you're on a federal terror watch list. None of these amendments is expected to pass.

A fifth proposal will be unveiled this afternoon. Now, the compromise measure from moderate Republican, Susan Collins, would reduce the number of people who cannot buy guns because they're on a terror watch list. Unknown when, or if, the compromise will get a vote.

NOBLES: So, will there ultimately be a gun amendment in the Senate, and how does all this factor into the 2016 presidential race? Joining us to help sort it all out is CNN politics reporter, Eugene Scott. He's live --

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning.

NOBLES: -- in our Washington bureau. Good morning, Eugene.

SCOTT: Good morning.

NOBLES: So, let's talk about gun politics right now. Is there enough momentum heading in the direction of the anti -- or, in the gun control lobby where we could actually see something substantive happen on Capitol Hill?

[05:35:00] SCOTT: If so, not today. What we're thinking will happen will be pretty similar to what happened in December when there were amendments that weren't that different from the ones we're looking at today, that weren't as successful and didn't get passed.

But, as you mentioned before, we're seeing Maine senator Collins is trying to bring something together that's a bit more bipartisan that will people will be more likely to find some agreement on across party aisles that hopefully will lead to some changes that could prevent tragedies that are similar to the one we saw last week. ROMANS: There are other policy prescriptions out there in the wake of Orlando, and one of those getting a lot of attention is kind of a warmed version of advice from Donald Trump earlier about racial profiling. Listen to what Donald Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: I think profiling is something that we're going to have to start thinking about as a country. Other countries do it, and you look at Israel and you look at others, and the do it and they do it successfully. I hate the concept of profiling but we have to start using common sense and we have to use our heads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That's Donald Trump on CBS's "Face The Nation" on Sunday. He, as I say, warmed -- warmed advice from Donald Trump because he had said this after San Bernardino, too, last fall, you'll recall. Since then his calls for racial profiling have cooled, not back here again.

SCOTT: Yes, and as you can imagine, Attorney General Lynch is not really supportive of that idea. What Donald Trump is hoping that it would do -- it's not proven to actually do it. That's what people who don't support the idea believe. It's also worth mentioning that we've seen significant numbers of mass shootings in the country that have been committed by people who were not Muslim.

So, whether or not profiling based on religion will prevent these attacks, it's not proven because the facts don't align with how that would go about -- how one would implement profiling for a terrorist based on religion. It isn't clear. He didn't really expand upon that but there's not a lot of support for it anyway.

NOBLES: And it does open the door, though, for Democrats to continue their attacks on Donald Trump --

SCOTT: Sure.

NOBLES: -- and they are not afraid to call him a racist. Listen to what Elizabeth Warren said over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Every day it becomes clearer that he is just a small, insecure, moneygrubber who doesn't care about anyone or anything that doesn't have the Trump name splashed all over it. Every day it becomes clearer that he is a thin- skinned racist bully. And every day it becomes clearer he will never be president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Now, Eugene, during the primary these kind of attacks seemed to help Donald Trump, but the polls are starting to show that maybe it's finally starting to have some sort of an impact on him. SCOTT: Yes, very much so, and there are people in the Republican Party who are concerned that this could continue to be the case. That his support could continue to decrease as we move closer to the Republican National Convention, which is one of the thought processes behind people's interest in still seeing if there could be another nominee.

But the reality, as you mentioned -- I mean, he is the candidate that received the most votes, and the most votes in history, as he's quick to remind you --

ROMANS: Right.

SCOTT: -- from Republicans. So, as frustrated as many Democrats have been with his words and his proposals, the reality is that quite a few Americans align with him.

ROMANS: I think we're going to get a lot more information about both of these candidates in the next few days, really --

SCOTT: Sure.

ROMANS: -- to see what kind of -- you know, Hillary Clinton, tomorrow, is going to have a major speech about the economy in Columbus. She will probably try to paint Donald Trump as somebody who's only dealt for himself. Has always, you know, kind of made money at the expense of the little guy.

And then Donald Trump, I think, this week, or soon, we're going to hear more about what he thinks about anti-regulatory -- what he would do to remake the American economy. So I think there's a lot coming up on the economy front, from my beat, obviously.

SCOTT: Right.

ROMANS: So, you think that's going to be the next big push here?

SCOTT: Absolutely, and Hillary Clinton has made that very clear that that scenario that she wants to attack Donald Trump on, if she has to, because since he was not a lawmaker there's no policy to attack him on. But because he has been such a successful businessman and he campaigns on that and leads with that, that's what has to be picked apart. And it will be interesting to see what she says and how he defends himself.

ROMANS: I suspect we will hear 'temperamentally unfit'. I'm sure we're going to hear that again.

SCOTT: Yes.

ROMANS: That seems to be a phrase that keeps coming up.

SCOTT: Yes, sure.

ROMANS: Eugene, nice to see you. Thank you.

SCOTT: You, as well.

NOBLES: Thank, Eugene.

ROMANS: All right, lethal heat spreading across the country. Four people dead, wildfire raging. We've got that for you next.

[05:39:50]

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[05:44:00] ROMANS: Welcome back, 43 minutes past the hour. Campaigning has resumed with just three days remaining before the big Brexit vote in the U.K. This historic referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union or exit has been overshadowed in recent days by the stunning murder of Jo Cox. Over the weekend mourners remembered the 41-year-old lawmaker and mother of two as a shining example of what politicians should be. She is the first sitting British lawmaker to be killed in 26 years.

Let's go live to Birstall, England and bring in CNN's Nic Robertson. And really, the mood has shifted over the past few days. There was a pause in the campaigning for this referendum after Jo Cox was killed and now it seems that the polls might be shifting toward staying in the E.U.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really noticeable. It is too soon to say for sure if this is a definitive shift, but what you had in the days leading up to where Jo Cox was killed -- you had momentum for the leave campaign. They weredefinitely edging ahead across many -- most polls were predicting that.

[05:45:00] The polls now -- we're seeing the polling over the weekend indicating that the leave campaign is sort of winning a few supporters back, and we found that around here. We went out to some of the towns around here, talked to people. Asked the if Jo Cox's killing was going to influence the way they were voting, and significantly, women in particular were telling us that it was for them. That some of them who were thinking of voting to leave the European Union are deciding now to vote to stay.

They say they're just concerned about the nature of the debate, where it's going, what it means, the uncertainty, the economy. The future of the economy has been a big issue for a lot of people here. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has been telling people in Britain, now that the campaigning has restarted again, that they're much better off economically to stay in the European Union.

The markets seem to be responding to these changing numbers -- these changing poll predictions indicating that Britain now potentially looking a little more likely to vote to remain. It is still too close to call, but the markets are being reassured by what they're hearing, Christine.

ROMANS: Jo Cox, someone who brought together a very diverse, you know -- diverse constituency. Someone who campaigned, who was an advocate for Syrian refugees. Someone whose death is certainly being felt gravely there in the U.K. Nic, thank you for that, so much.

And Nic's right, global markets are moving higher this morning. European stocks surging. The fears easing that Britain will vote to leave the European Union, known as Brexit. Those voters will decide Thursday whether the country will leave or remain in the E.U. It would have big implications for global and U.S. stocks.

Brexit already has been causing volatility on Wall Street. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 all lost at least one percent last week. And while weekend polls show U.K. voters are leaning toward remaining in the E.U., experts say it could be a big sell-off Friday if the country leaves. Right now in the U.S. futures are higher again on the hope that the tone has shifted and you'll have the E.U. stay -- or, that Britain stay in the E.U.

NOBLES: All right, at least five deadly wildfires are burning across the desertsouthwest right now. This, as the broiling heat kills at least four people over the weekend in Arizona. Two of them died while hiking in triple-digit temperatures and those scalding temperatures will continue today.

More on the threat now from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine and Ryan, good morning to you both. We're watching these record temperatures across the southwest. An incredible pattern, too, when you consider how early it is in the season.

Of course, today, the first full day of summer and these temperatures are well above what you would see this time of year, about 105 what you'd expect. One-hundred sixteen is what they're shooting up there in Phoenix this afternoon.Vegas also going for a record temperature of 115 degrees.

Some areas, including areas around Death Valley -- they could get as hot as 125. Keep in mind, climatologically speaking, the middle of July, not the middle of June, is the hottest time of year and at that point temps in the hottest places in the U.S. -- they're typically around 115 to 118. Certainly not as hot as we'll see it over the next 24 hours.

But look at this. Heat is the number one weather killer in the United States over the past 30 years. About 130 people every single year lose their lives on average and, of course, a lot of that happens over the next several months.

Of course, we have fires in place, as well. You do the number on this, that's about 60 square miles of land that has been consumed by fires. But compare this to last year, Ryan and Christine. You look at that -- almost 1,800 fires in 2015 at this point in the season. That number's dropped a little bit as far as acreage burned -- has also dropped in 2016. But again, it's very early in the season, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: All right, Pedram, thank you for that. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" this morning, Monday morning. Alisyn Camerota joins us. Hi, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hey, guys, good morning. Great to see both of you. So, this morning on the program we will hear the Orlando gunman's own words, possibly, and we will also learn more about his motivation for that massacre at the Pulse nightclub because the FBI's releasing these partial transcripts of the three phone calls between the gunman and the hostage negotiators.

We will also talk with two U.S. senators about these votes that are coming up today on these four separate gun measures. What is the chance that any of these will pass?

And on a much lighter note, it's been 52 years in the making. The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrating an NBA championship. It's a big morning in that city and we have all of the details for you when we see you in about 11 minutes.

ROMANS: Yes, what a great game. All right, nice to see you, Alisyn. Thank you.

NOBLES: Thanks, Alisyn.

ROMANS: Ever dreamed of flying to space? How about space tourism? It could be a reality. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money, next.

[05:49:45]

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[05:53:50] NOBLES: The Iraqi security forces are gaining the upper hand in the bloody struggle to liberate the city of Fallujah from ISIS. Military officials in Iraq expect the remaining insurgents to be driven out soon. Well over 80,000 civilians have been forced to flee Fallujah during four weeks of fighting, with nearly half of them displaced in just the last three days.

Let's go live now to Baghdad. That's were senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is. Ben, what's the latest?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.N. officials are saying, Ryan, that as many as 30,000 people have fled from Fallujah within the last three days. It's not clear how many people are still stuck in the northern neighborhoods of the city where ISIS is still in control. In those areas the battle is still raging. Iraqi forces have, over the last three days, really been able to take much of the city back but ISIS snipers have been left behind causing some problems for Iraqi forces.

[05:55:00] Now, we are hearing that as many as 387 ISIS fighters have been killed by the Iraqi army in the last few days. But they're also encountering another problem, and that is that many of those ISIS militants are trying to sneak out among the civilian population fleeing the city. One Iraqi senior officer telling Iraqi T.V. that 1,086 ISIS militants have been captured among those civilians trying to flee.

As far as the civilians go, they're being sent to camps around Fallujah where conditions are dire. The Iraqi authorities simply were not equipped to deal with that number of people coming in. Relief officials saying there's a lack of food, and water, and medicine for those fleeing Fallujah -- Ryan.

NOBLES: All right, Ben Wedeman, life in Baghdad. Ben, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, 55 minutes past the hour and time for an EARLY START on your money. Global markets surging this morning after fears ease that Britain will vote to leave the European Union. This Thursday is the big day voters in the U.K. will decide what's known as Brexit -- whether the country will leave or remain in the European Union.

And that could have big implications for global and U.S. stocks. Brexit already causing volatility on Wall Street. Experts say we could experience a huge sell-off Friday if the country leaves. Right now, in the U.S., futures are higher on the hope that it stays.

You may soon be able to buy a ticket to space. Blue Origin, a private space company headed by Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos -- it successfully tested one of its rockets Sunday. The company wants to pioneer space tourism. That is, offer paying customers a way to head to space. But, Bezos isn't the only big exec trying his hand at recreational space travel. Tesla's Elon Musk and Virgin's Richard Branson own competing companies.

You may want to check your Ticketmaster account. Millions of Ticketmaster customers are getting free tickets as payment from a class action lawsuit. The suit claimed the company was charging excessive and deceptive fees. Ticketmaster denies the claim but agreed in a settlement to issue $45 million worth of tickets to customers. The company said those affected will get at least one code in their accounts, which can be redeemed for two general admission tickets, so check out your account.

NOBLES: Back to Blue Origin. Are you buying a seat on that space flight?

ROMANS: You know, I'm spacey enough as it is without having to buy a ticket to space. What about you?

NOBLES: I don't know if I want to be on the first one. Maybe the third or fourth one.

ROMANS: I'm pretty sure I don't have enough disposable income for that ride.

NOBLES: Yes, I think that's the other thing. New crucial details about the Orlando terror attack being released today. The information you need to know. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: He talked about his pledges of allegiance to a terrorist group.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Transcripts of the killer's phone calls with police will be made public.

LYNCH: We're going to limit these transcripts to avoid re-victimizing those who went through this horror.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Had this proposal been into effect, it may have stopped the shooting.

TRUMP: If, in that club, you had somebody with a gun strapped onto their hip you would have had a very, very different result.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody wants terrorists with guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to have the courage in Washington to actually take action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cleveland is a city of champions once again.

LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: I came back for a reason. I came back to bring a championship to our city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, June 20th, 6:00 in the east. Chris is off and Jim Sciutto joins me. What did you think about the game last night?

JIM SCUITTO, CNN ANCHOR: I've got to tell you. In what was a tough week, you and I know -- we were both in Orlando. I mean, that was a happy event, particularly for Cleveland. It's a city -- they haven't had a championship, I think since 1964 in any sport. And LeBron James -- he came home to Ohio and he gets this win. It was pretty -- it was a good sports day last night.

CAMEROTA: It sure was. (Video playing) Look at him. Look at how happy he is, as well as the city of Cleveland. We'll talk about what all of that means for them coming up.

But, up first, today the FBI will release transcripts of those conversations between the Orlando killer and police negotiators. What did the gunman tell police during the rampage at that gay nightclub?

SCUITTO: And this, as tens of thousands of people turn out for a candlelight vigil to remember the 49 lives lost one week ago. The Senate set to vote today on four different gun control measures but the prospects of any change, if you can believe it, appear doomed. We've got it all covered only the way CNN can.

Let's begin with Polo Sandoval. He is live in Orlando with the latest. Polo, what's the mood down there today? I mean, that event last even, it was just really remarkable, it seemed.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, it really was a celebration of life here, Jim. People remembering the lives of those 49 people who were killed here just over a week ago. Meanwhile, that investigation does press forward.

Authorities here in Orlando saying that it's too soon to say if we'll ever hear the voice of Omar Mateen on the recordings made the night of the shooting. However, as you mentioned, the FBI will be shedding more light on the investigation as they tell us more about those tense moments between the gunman and police the night of the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: This morning, authorities set to release the killer's words.